REPORT: US Along With Russia, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait Blocked the Endorsement of Climate Study at UN Climate Change Conference

Dignitaries and guests are seen gathered for the opening of the Climate Change Conference COP24 in Katowice, Poland on December 3, 2018. The Katowice Climate Conference has been deemed especially important for its role in the finalisation of the practical agreements of the 2015 Paris Climate Accord and the fact that the World Meteorological Association has issued a dire warning on damage caused by climate change since the last conference. (Photo by Jaap Arriens/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

On Saturday, at the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Katowice, Poland, the United States, along with Russia, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, acted to block the endorsement of the IPCC’s recently released landmark climate change report.

The report notes the urgency of Earth’s climate crisis, laying out the imminent impact of rising temperatures as well as guiding policymakers on how to offset the impact.

By this point, the scientific community is virtually unanimous on the need to address climate change and Americans agree that policy changes to slow the impacts are not only sensible, but vital.

For this reason, Americans found it maddening that the United States joined the small chorus of voices refusing to edorse the report, with the State Department saying

“The United States was willing to note the report and express appreciation to the scientists who developed it, but not to welcome it, as that would denote endorsement of the report. As we have made clear in the IPCC and other bodies, the United States has not endorsed the findings of the report.”

Many had a problem with the U.S. taking the side of Russia, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.

Gee, when these are team members, what does it say about your team? I hope mar-a-Lago gets flooded/ "the United States teamed with Russia, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait to challenge language that would have welcomed the landmark climate change report” https://t.co/xG1rD6vaPw

Under Trump, instead of leading the world to act on climate change, the United States joined with Russia and Saudi Arabia to stop the recognition of a scientific report about the increasingly urgent need for climate action.#TrumpRussia#TrumpSaudihttps://t.co/aV7WDZ4GDv